Contemporary Tzaraat?

 https://www.torahmusings.com/2022/04/contemporary-tzaraat-2/

The question why we don’t observe the laws of metzora has troubled many Torah scholars. In his introduction to his Tiferet Yisrael commentary on Mishnah Nega’im, R. Yisrael Lipschitz recalls that in his youth he asked the great R. Akiva Eiger this question. He responded that he himself was wondering the same thing for a long time and does not have a good answer. ^[18] R. Lipschitz himself answers along the lines of Rambam. Whereas Rambam stressed the need for a kohen meyuchas in determining a metzora to be impure, R. Lipschitz claimed it was essential for the purification process. Because the purification process included shaving the head, it could only be done if the metzora was really impure and had now been cured. But since a metzora can only become impure by the pronouncement of a real kohen, if it turned out the kohen was not a valid kohen, the shaving of the head would be a Torah violation. ^[19]

Majorities don’t want Biden, Trump to run in 2024: survey

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3965267-majorities-dont-want-biden-trump-to-run-in-2024-survey/

Most Americans in a new poll don’t want former President Trump to run for the White House in 2024, and a majority doesn’t want President Biden to run for reelection, either, as he prepares for an expected campaign launch that could come as early as this week.

A new NBC News poll found that 60 percent of Americans think Trump shouldn’t try to retake the Oval Office — including roughly a third of Republicans. Thirty percent of those who think he shouldn’t campaign in 2024 cite the criminal charges he faces in New York as a “major” reason.

Israel arrests Jordanian MP for trying to smuggle 200 guns into West Bank, says Amman

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-arrests-jordanian-mp-over-weapons-and-gold-smuggling-says-amman/

Israel arrested a Jordanian parliamentarian on suspicion of smuggling over 200 guns and gold into the West Bank, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

According to Jordan’s Ammon news outlet, the arrest took place Saturday evening at the Allenby Bridge border crossing, as MP Imad al-Adwan was heading into Israel by car.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the episode.

UK Labour MP suspended after saying Jews don't experience racism

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-740041

Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) Spokesperson Fiona Sharpe issued a statement stating that Abbott's letter was unacceptable. 

Sharpe added that the letter attempted to "reduce the racism faced by Jews to mere prejudice when in living memory 6 million Jews were systematically slaughtered in Europe for their race is grossly offensive."

Sharpe added "In the UK today, 1 in 5 of all Jews has suffered a racist attack..."

Book scanner

 I need to scan books - 100's of pages into pdf or word format

There are many scanners for books with features such as autofocus page flattening and curved surfaces - does anyone recommend a particular model or whether it is better to use a professional service - which I am still looking for in Jerusalem.

After four days: Missing yeshiva student found dead

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370356

Kisus went missing after he left his kayak in order to swim at an unofficial beach, and it seems he was swept away by the current.

Dozens protest after Arab justice says rape was 'without significant violence'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370316

Dozens protested Thursday night outside the home of Khaled Kabub, a Supreme Court justice, after he declared that a rapist acted "without significant violence."

In the incident in question, an Arab raped a Jewish woman, but Kabub declared that the rapist had acted "without significant violence" and ordered that his release be considered.

Ghetto Mentality has consequences

Murdoch’s ‘stupidity’ gave Dominion a huge win

Biggest winners and losers in the blockbuster Fox-Dominion settlement

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3959031-biggest-winners-and-losers-in-the-blockbuster-fox-dominion-settlement/

Even for a multi-billion dollar company, $787.5 Million is a lot of money. 

Fox Corp., which owns and operates Fox News, is also facing lawsuits from shareholders on the company’s board who are upset with the network’s coverage of the 2020 election and the resulting litigation it has sparked. 

Shareholder Robert Schwarz alleged in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court earlier this month that Murdoch and other board members breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders by failing to uphold the company’s ethical reputation. 

Five takeaways from the Fox News-Dominion settlement

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3959249-five-takeaways-from-the-fox-news-dominion-settlement/

The network gave perfunctory coverage to the Dominion settlement, even as rival cable networks and other news sites splashed the big news.

To many people, Fox’s conduct around the election-related conspiracy theories was indefensible.

But it’s a massive stretch to imagine its audience will drift away in any significant numbers — if at all.

Egyptians complain over Netflix depiction of Cleopatra as black

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65322821

Zahi Hawass, a prominent Egyptologist and former antiquities minister, told the al-Masry al-Youm newspaper: "This is completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not black."

Mr Hawass said the only rulers of Egypt known to have been black were the Kushite kings of the 25th Dynasty (747-656 BC).

"Netflix is trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilisation is black," he added and called on Egyptians to take a stand against the streaming giant.

Fox News Digital finishes first quarter as No. 1 news brand across key metrics, topping CNN, New York Times - response to paying Dominion Settlement

Fox News Digital finishes first quarter as No. 1 news brand across key metrics, topping CNN, New York Times\

Read comments to this spin

It was the eighth straight quarter that Fox News Digital finished as the No.1 news brand among multiplatform minutes. It was also the third straight quarter that Fox News Digital finished as the leader with multiplatform views from a group of organizations that includes NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Insider Inc., and USA Today, in addition to CNN and the Times. 

Haredi IDF draft plans will lead to breakdown of Israeli society, Lapid warns

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-739679

According to the existing law that expires on July 31, haredi yeshiva students who leave a yeshiva before the age of 26 are required to serve in the IDF. The government is discussing what the new exemption age will be, with the IDF preferring 23 while Smotrich and the haredi parties reportedly prefer earlier. Another issue that is being discussed is the size and form of the benefits for conscripts in general and combat soldiers in particular.